Hanging bookcase



Sept 1, 1964 s. scHAEFER ETAL 3,146,888

HANGING BooKcAsE:

` Filed July le, 1962 Arf-02M?? United States Patent O M 3,146,883HANGING BOOKCASE Stephen Schaefer, 3611 N. Del Mar Ave., South SanGabriel, Calif., and David L. Hanghian, 2168 Lyric Ave., Los Angeles,Calif.

Filed July 16, 1962, Ser. No. 209,971 Claims. (Cl. 211-43) Thisinvention relates to a bookcase particularly for paper-back booksalthough usable for a variety of articles as well as books, generally.While preferably a hanging bookcase, the same may be set on legs, ifdesired.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bookcase comprisingcomponents that may be assembled with easy facility without tools, saidcomponents being adapted to be shipped in knock-down form to savetransportation costs.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bookcase with novel bookends that are incorporated in the structure and are adapted for readyadjustment to engage the opposite ends of a stack of books.

This invention also has for its objects to provide such means that arepositive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a workingposition and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture,relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novelcombinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear inthe course of the following description and which is based on theaccompanying drawing. However, said drawing merely shows, and thefollowing description merely describes, one embodiment of the presentinvention, which is given by way of illustration or example only.

In the drawing, like reference characters designate similar parts in theseveral views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bookcase construe tion according tothe present invention and shown with a stack of books thereon.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of said bookcase, as installed on awall.

FIG. 3 is a broken front view, partly in section.

The bookcase that is illustrated comprises, generally, two similarboards 5 and 6 arranged in coeXtensive relation one above the other, abackboard 7 between the rear edges of said boards 5 and 6, hangerbrackets 8 (only one being shown) connecting said rear edges of saidboards 5 and 6, end braces 9 interconnecting the boards 5 and 6 ateither ends adjacent to the front edges thereof, and book endsadjustably carried by one of the boards 5 or 6.

The boards 5 and 6 serve as shelves and are preferably wooden, thebackboard 7 preferably a composition, such as Masonite, the brackets 8are preferably metal, as iron, steel or brass, and the book ends 10 maybe made of plastic or metal, as desired.

Each of the boards 5 and 6 is provided along the rear edge thereof withopposite grooves 11 for the full longitudinal length of said boards,with rearwardly open holes 12 to receive the brackets 8, withlongitudinal holes 13 from end to end of the board, and with a narrowcoextensive slot 14 opening into said holes 13. As best seen in FIG. 2,said slots 14 are sloped toward the rear edge of the board in whichprovided.

The backboard 7 serves to space the boards 5 and 6 and has itslongitudinal edges engaged in the grooves 11 in the faces of boards 5and 6 that are directed toward each other. In practice, the upper board5 is disposed with its slot 14 open to the space between boards 5 and 6.However, if desired, the lower board may be reversed from the positionshown so the slot 14 thereof opens upwardly into said space betweenboards 5 and 6. The

3,146,888 Patented Sept. l, 1964 ICC grooves 11 that are not occupied bythe edges of backboard 7 may receive the edges of another backboard ifit is desired to have three or more support boards, such as 5 and 6,comprising the bookcase.

The brackets 8 have parallel ends 15 that extend into the holes 12, themain body 16 of each bracket being adapted to be fastened to a wall 17by screws 18. The brackets 8 are fully hidden from View behind thebackboard 7.

The braces 9 comprise U-shaped rod or heavy wire elements that haveparallel ends 19 that are connected to the ends of a brace portion 20that spans between the boards 5 and 6 at the opposite ends thereof. Ends19 are inserted into the ends of the longitudinal holes 13 to the endsof a brace poltion 20 that spans between ing the upper board 5 from thelower board 6. The support is a rm one because the braces 9 are locatedclosely adjacent to the front edge of boards 5 and 6. The rectangularstructure thus provided is adapted to support books and other articlesdisposed on both boards 5 and 6.

The book ends 10 extend in a rearwardly angled direction from whicheverboard 5 or 6 mounts the same. Each book end 10 comprises an arbor 21that slidingly lits thev hole 1?, on extension arm 22 that passesthrough the slot 14 of said hole 13 at the slope or angle of said slotand is engaged and guidingly held by the slot at the same rearward angleof slope as the slot, and a disc 23 on the end of said arm in transversearrangement with respect to the length of the bookcase so as to haveatwise contact with the outer book of a stack of books rearward of avertical plane extending through said hole 13, as shown. The arbor 21and arm 22 are preferably at right angles, the book ends each having anL form.

Two such book ends are provided to engage the opposite ends of a stackof books. It is preferred that the arm Z2 have limited resilience toflex when engaged with a stack of books, producing a bias on the arbors21 of the two book ends and, thereby, locking the same in stackengagingposition. Upon release of the pressure on the discs 23 by manualmanipulation, the book ends may be slid apart so that books may be addedto the stack.

f The book ends may not inadvertently be slid beyond the ends of theboard mounting them, since the braces 9 will prevent such disassembly.It will be noted that various sizes of books will be effectivelycontacted by the book ends, since the discs thereof having a rearwardposition with respect to the holes 13, which, because they also engagethe brackes 9, are arranged adjacent to the front edges of the boards Sand 6.

While the foregoing has illustrated and described what is nowcontemplated to be the best mode of carrying out the invention, theconstruction is, of course, subject to modification without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is not desiredto restrict the invention to the particular form of constructionillustrated and described, but to cover all modifications that may fallwithin the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described this invention, what is claimed and desired to besecured by Letters Patent is:

l. A bookcase comprising (a) two spaced shelf boards one above theother,

(b) a backboard between the rear edges of said shelf boards,

(c) at least two hanger brackets connecting the rear edges of the shelfboards,

(d) braces at the ends of the boards connecting the forward portions ofsaid shelf boards adjacent the forward edges thereof,

(e) each said shelf board having a longitudinal hole parallel to andadjacent the front edges of the shelf glasses 3 4 boards and into theends of which said braces are (a) the hole being disposed adjacent to anedge of fitted, and the shelf, and (f) book ends for books that areSupported on the (b) the slot having an angular direction toward thelower of said shelf boards and carried by one shelf OPPOS@ edge 0f theShelf,

board, said book ends each being provided with an (C) the book endsbeing Provided With book'enaging elongated arbol. portion Slidinglyengaged in the hole portions at the ends thereof that are maintained inthe latter shelf board. rearward ofthe said hole and slot.

5. A book end for connection to a bookcase shelf having a longitudinalslot, said book end comprising: 10 (a) an arbor portion adapted forsliding engagement in said slot, (b) a resilient arm portion extendingfrom one end of the arbor portion substantially at a right angle, and

2. A bookcase according to claim 1 in which the end braces have oppositeparallel ends that extend into the opposite ends of the longitudinalholes in the shelf boards, said brace ends retaining the book endsbetween the braces at each end of the bookcase.

3. In a bookcase having two parallel shelves one above (C) a bookengaging disc 1ike end on the end of said the other with the lower shelfadapted to support books T5 arm-1 standing on end,

(a) at lease one of said shelves having a longitudinal References Citedin the tile of this patent hole therethrough with a slot longitudinallycoexten- UNITED STATES PATENTS lllfsgvltlehnlole and 096mg on me Spacebetween 20 193,339 Lothrop July 24, 1877 (b) a pair of book endsslidingly engaged in said holes 1608497 Escher NOV' 30 1926 and eachprovided with a portion extending through FOREIGN PATENTS said slot intothe space between the shelves and 1'11 34,766 Denmark July 9, 1925guiding engagement with the book ends. 59,978 Netherlands Sept. 15, 19474. In a bookcase according to claim 3, 867,322 Great Britain May 3, 1961

1. A BOOKCASE COMPRISING (A) TWO SPACED SHELF BOARDS ONE ABOVE THEOTHER, (B) A BACKBOARD BETWEEN THE REAR EDGES OF SAID SHELF BOARDS, (C)AT LEAST TWO HANGER BRACKETS CONNECTING THE REAR EDGES OF THE SHELFBOARDS, (D) BRACES AT THE ENDS OF THE BOARDS CONNECTING THE FORWARDPORTIONS OF SAID SHELF BOARDS ADJACENT THE FORWARD EDGES THEREOF, (E)EACH SAID SHELF BOARD HAVING A LONGITUDINAL HOLE PARELLEL TO ANDADJACENT THE FRONT EDGES OF THE SHELF BOARDS AND INTO THE ENDS OF WHICHSAID BRACES ARE FITTED, AND (F) BOOK ENDS FOR BOOKS THAT ARE SUPPORTEDON THE LOWER OF SAID SHELF BOARDS AND CARRIED BY ONE SHELF BOARD, SAIDBOOK ENDS EACH BEING PROVIDED WITH AN ELONGATED ARBOR PORTION SLIDINGLYENGAGED IN THE HOLE IN THE LATTER SHELF BOARD.